2020 has been a busy and unpredictable year for everyone. Although it is not over yet, we have no doubt that this year has been challenging for all sectors in every way; there have been guarantees, design and sales plan revisions, quota adjustments, etc.
Surely your company is thinking right now about how to handle this third quarter of 2020 and at the same time starting to come up with a sales plan for 2021.
2021 already has some known complexities. The global health situation is likely to improve, many normal activities can be revived, and with luck, an upturn in the economy will begin to be seen.
But 2021 also brings many unknowns.
- Will some of your customers go bankrupt and certain industries and geographies be affected differently than others?
- Will the economic malaise affect the number of salespeople we need to optimize sales and profitability?
- Will the sales force be able to work fully or partially?
- Will your CRM program be able to support the sales plan?
Whatever the challenge, a strong sales plan is needed to survive an uncertain 2021. Here are some tips:
 4 tips to improve your 2021 sales plan
1.Set realistic sales goals
The objectives are the north of your company and especially for all your commercial area. They serve to structure your sales plan and help you understand in which direction you should move.
To establish realistic objectives, it is enough to estimate what you want to achieve, such as a number of new customers or any other relevant and necessary metrics for your business, taking into account: the size of the market, the business objectives and the experience and resources available.
 2.Define dates, deadlines and milestones
It divides the final goal into small challenges with an expiration date. These help you check if your sales plan is working or should be redirected.
Sales plan dates and milestones help challenge and motivate your sales team to work and measure their progress constantly.
To define dates and milestones that hold your team back and do not allow you to implement a solid sales plan, it is necessary to understand how your sales team works;
- what is the sales process they are currently following?
- What sales techniques do they use? How do they search for new customers?
- At what time of day do they make sales calls?
All this information will help you to have a clear idea of the milestones you can define.
3.Focus on a niche
It is impossible for everyone to like it. So, another tip for creating your 2021 sales plan is to choose a niche to focus on and to generate traction.
Analyze your market niche and ask yourself:
- How big is this market?
- Is there really a demand capable of covering the financial needs of the business?
- What is the current position of the business in the marketplace?
- What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the business with respect to this market niche?
If you feel that your sales team has not yet managed to define a market niche, this is the ideal time to find it by focusing on the strengths that differentiate your company, product or service and asking yourself questions such as:
- Where have you achieved the best results?
- In what aspects of the offering does your company have the most experience?
- What are the characteristics of current customers?
- What is the main need that the product or service your company offers solve
4.Leverage existing customer relationships
Don’t make the mistake of establishing a business plan focused solely on getting new leads for your company. In addition, by treating your older customers well you will ensure that they are naturally the ones who will attract new customers.
If you don’t have a CRM platform yet, don’t waste any more time and consider investing in this technology for your company.
We know that your sales team is capable of achieving great things, we offer them the best technologies to save time, facilitate their work and make them develop and demonstrate all their talent and potential.
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